18 April 2014 Current Affairs Updates

1) World
Heritage Day observed: World Heritage Day 2014 was observed across the
World on April 18 with the theme "Heritage of Commemoration". The day also known as 'International Day for
Monuments and Sites' is celebrated to promote awareness about their significance
in life and to intensify the preservation efforts. As of Januray 2014, there
are 981 World Heritage Sites across 160 countries in the world. On World
Heritage Day, India got a special gift from the United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organisation which on Friday put 15 additional sites
located across the country in its tentative list of world heritage sites.

2) Gabriel
Garcia Marquez, Nobel prize-winning author, died at 87: Gabriel Garcia
Marquez, the Colombian novelist whose "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
established him as a giant of 20th-century literature, died on Thursday at his
home in Mexico City. He was 87. His death was confirmed by Cristobal Pera, his
former editor at Random House. Garcia Marquez, who received the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1982, wrote fiction rooted in a mythical Latin American landscape
of his own creation, but his appeal was universal. His books were translated
into dozens of languages. He was among a select roster of canonical writers —
Dickens, Tolstoy and Hemingway among them — who were embraced both by critics
and by a mass audience. His other books include Chronicle of a Death Foretold
(1981), Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), Autumn of the Patriarch (1975), The
General in his Labyrinth (1989), Of Love and Other Demons (1994) and Living to
Tell the Tale (2002).

3) Bouteflika
wins 4th term as president of Algeria: Algerian President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika, whose poor health forced him to vote from a wheelchair, has won a
fourth term with 81.53 per cent of the votes, the Interior Minister announced
on Friday. The 77-year-old incumbent’s main rival, Ali Benflis, received 12.18 per
cent of the votes in a poll which saw 51.78 per cent of Algerians cast their
ballots, Tayeb Belaiz told a news conference.

5) Maxwell
powers Kings XI to easy win: Chennai Super Kings’ imposing 205 for four
failed to intimidate Kings XI Punjab, who chased down the total with six
wickets in hand and seven balls to spare in their Indian Premier League match
at the Zayed cricket stadium on an oppressive Friday afternoon. Drifting
dangerously at 52 for three early into the chase, the hour of reckoning
produced the man for the crisis in the form of Glenn Maxwell, whose 43-ball 95
brought the Kings well within range of what had once seemed a distant target.

6) Rahane
and Binny shine in Royals win: Rajasthan Royals, after restricting
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s famed batting line-up to a modest 133 for six, survived a
few anxious moments before overhauling the target with three balls and four
wickets to spare in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Zayed
Cricket Stadium here on Friday. Rising head and shoulders above the rest in the
low-scoring contest was man-of-the-match Ajinkya Rahane, who anchored the
innings with 59 off 53 balls before Stuart Binny’s unconquered 48 (32b, 4x4,
1x6) took Royals home. Binny held one end up even as wickets fell at regular
intervals at the other.

7) Raj
Singh is chef-de-mission for Commonwealth Games 2014: Raj Singh
(Dronacharya awardee) has been appointed chef-de-mission for the 2014
Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3, according to
a press release from the Indian Olympic Association. Raja K.S. Sidhu, an
International shooter, will be the deputy chef-de-mission.

8) EC
launched Voter Educational Channel: The Election Commission has launched
its own internet-based media arm called ‘Voter Education Channel’. Numerous
video clips featuring iconic personalities urging citizens to vote have been
uploaded on the channel and can be viewed on social media platform YouTube.
While the first clip showcases a recorded speech of Chief Election Commissioner
V S Sampath asking voters to exercise their voting right, a number of other
video links have sportpersons like M S Dhoni, Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom
urging the young and the old to go for the most important right of an Indian
citizen — that of the vote.

Voters can also view videos of EC brand
ambassadors such as former President APJ Abdul Kalam and actor Aamir Khan on
the e-link.

9) Vietnam
Pulls out of Hosting Asian Games 2019: Vietnam has withdrawn as the host of
the 2019 Asian Games, saying it lacked funds and the country's reputation could
be at risk if the event flops.

18 April 2014 Current Affairs Updates
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1) World Heritage Day observed : World Heritage Day 2014 was observed across the World on April 18 with the theme "Heritage of Commem...